North of Wutai
by mikkimikka
Summary: Right after Meteor Reno is sent to Wutai on a private mission to investigate a strange disease which is rapidly spreading. There he teams up with an unlikely ninja princess sidekick to get to the root of the matters. Slow build.
1. Chapter 1

Title: North of Wutai  
Author: Mikkimikka  
Rating: M  
Summary: Right after Meteor Reno is sent to Wutai on a private mission to investigate a strange disease which is rapidly spreading. There he teams up with an unlikely ninja princess sidekick to get to the root of the matters.

01.

The true sign of the downfall of a town was the lack of any proper place to get any liquor. Or at least, that was Reno's perspective. Wutai post meteor and the Turtle Paradise still stood like an oasis in the landscape of the city. He used all of his self restraint not the weep for joy. His favorite establishment in the place was safe and all was well.

Suppressing a grin the red headed Turk slouched and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his over-sized suit pants and sauntered towards the entrance ready to indulge in the wares. Of course he was in the city for business but that never stopped him before. Why should the meteor change any of that?

He noticed, just as it was in other parts of the world, there were several sick people shambling down the streets cloaked and covered in bandages. Their number however was fewer there than other places he had been and whatever heart was left in the Turk did feel a bit relieved to see it. The sight of suffering rarely held his sympathy but he knew he would hate to die so slowly and helplessly as those infected with that strange disease.

One of the afflicted sat at the side of the door a tin can grasped in his bandaged hands. Reno stifled his gut instinct to kick the man aside when those frail fingers began to pull at his pants leg. The diseased wretch outstretched the other hand and rattled the can as he did so pleading in his strange foreign language – the language of the Wutai people around him. Of course Reno's patience began to wear thin.

He was saved from having to take any action as the pub's door flew open and an angry man – short stature, round face, dark hair and eyes, perfectly indistinguishable in the masses of people dwelling in the city – began squawking in his language at the diseased bum until the vagrant was forced to retreat. Reno watched the cloaked figure disappear over the bridge and into the crowd. He then turned and followed the worker into the building.

The bar was just as it had been when Reno had last been a patron there. There was no sign it had been hit badly by the worldwide recession and Reno had to chuckle to himself at that taking it as proof that yet another theory of his had been proven right. Where there was booze there was life.

He followed the bartender to the bar and sat at a stool. It was his usual space and felt a bit lonely with Rude or Elena at his side. He'd take it however without complaint. After all, their department was short staffed at the moment and he was the lucky one who was able to get out and stretch his legs a bit with a solo mission. He wouldn't look that gift horse in the mouth at least.

"It's been a while since I've seen one of you types here," the bartender said coming towards him and leaning forward on the counter.

Reno couldn't be sure if the man meant one of his types meaning foreigner or a worker for Shin-Ra. He supposed either would be rare at that moment. He hadn't seen a person of non Wutai decent since having landed in the city. A bit different than before all of that shit hit the fan.

"It's been awhile since I've seen a mug like yours too," Reno retorted with a smirk. "You missed me, huh?"

Reno knew for a fact that "missed" was quite not the word that the bartender would use but the man was too eager to keep his customer with deep pockets and the alcohol tolerance to go with it pleased. Reno ordered something to start, a bottle of sake, warmed, and dismissed the man with a flippant wave of his hand.

He had a long trip and he needed the drink and he could use something stronger too. He fidgeted in his pocket for a cigarette while mentally making a note to himself to look into getting some hard drugs when he could. If he was away from Rufus' urine test for awhile the least he could do was take advantage of it. His nose twitched in anticipation and he spun in his stool to survey the bar, not bothering to say even a thanks as the drink was placed by his elbow. He took it and enjoyed the feel of it warming him from the inside with the first sip then lit his cigarette. He relaxed after taking a long drag.

The place was near desolate. After all it was still petty early in the day. Reno contemplated his mission and was unsure when he would leave the city towards the north. It was territory he wasn't familiar with but that was something a Turk had to deal with. Being thrown into unfamiliarity was part of the job description. What wasn't part of his typical job description was human rights investigation and he recognized the irony in his being placed in the situation.

Either way it was best he start as soon as possible. He allowed himself this diversion at the Turtle Paradise but he would be a fool to believe his presence was not already spotted by people and word of it being passed along. He wondered if they were getting antsy, perhaps worried, his reputation, or at the very least that of the organization he stood for, wasn't exactly the best no matter what sudden crackpot bout of philanthropy and humanitarian urges Rufus was suddenly into. A sudden "change of heart" didn't clean a reputation as dirty as theirs and honestly Reno didn't mind a bit.

The drink was downed faster than Reno would have liked but it served it's purpose. Slapping down a bit of gil as he stood Reno didn't bother to straighten his even more rumpled suit and ran his fingers through coarse red hair. Break time was over and now was when business began. His boots thudded loudly against the wood of the place as he made his way towards the exit and upon pushing open the door he couldn't help but feel satisfaction by the small yet curious crowd that had gathered nearby.

He didn't understand their words but he could gather enough from their wide gazes. They were worried. Why was a Turk there? What did he want with them?

Damn, he felt good.

He stuck out his tongue and whipped out his electro rod spinning it briefly in front of him and then resting it against the crook between his neck and shoulder and drawing a fearful gasp from the crowd. He took a step forward and the locals seemed to move backwards in unison. He took another and the group bristled with fear. Now pumped up enough with pride Reno marched forward even quicker but unfortunately things weren't always as cool as he planned them in his mind.

There was a loose floor board which he managed to notice and step over (like the boss Turk he was) only to lose his footing having underestimated the distance to the steps. It was like slow motion, really, as he threw his hands in the air and boy it felt like such a long way down. His legs both gave out from under him and his mind couldn't even process the moment fast enough. Down he went and his bottom hit the stairs and slid down hitting the next one, and the next one and even further down to the next one until he had slid very ungraceful like to the bottom of the Turtle Paradise steps right onto the dirt of the road.

Reno groaned as he rolled to his knees and picked himself up.

"Smooth," a familiar voice said.

The red head Turk glanced over as he got himself back on his two feet and noticing the way the crowd seemed to dissipate, the previous tension all gone, and instead he was approached directly by a teenage girl in much to short shorts and a cropped top, not that Reno was complaining, that he was damn sure he recognized from somewhere. Those were not a pair of legs he would forget after all, though they could be considered skinny there were just the right amount of tone for him to admire even a bit.

He struggled to come up with the name.

"What do you want, Brat?"

The girl bristled and her face, which was at first neutral, turned into a glare at the name. The expression finally made it click into place for him. AVALANCHE: the girl was a member of that group, he was sure of it.

"I'm no brat," the girl said planting hands on her hips. "I'm Yuffie Kisaragi the single white rose of Wutai."

Reno rolled his eyes as he dusted his pants off and tapped his weapon again on his shoulder.

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" he asked.

"You aren't wanted here," the girl said, raising her chin haughtily. "So scram."

Reno chuckled. Scram was never a word that intimidated him. This girl was no match for him without her party members. He didn't mean to underestimate the girl but he easily had her beat in strength just from body build alone not to mention he had way more experience accumulated over his many years in the service.

He began to walk past the girl, away and over the bridge. He didn't have time for the girl and he didn't have enough alcohol in him to convince him to humor her either. Unfortunately the girl didn't take the hint. She began to follow and he heard the irritation in her voice without even having to turn.

"Hey! I'm talking to you, you know."

 _'How can I not?'_ the red head thought. _'You're basically screaming in my ear.'_

But still he did not stop and he heard the sounds of her feet as they pattered behind him over the wooden planks of the bridge. She ran past him and then stopped again at the foot of the bridge arms akimbo and cheek puffed in anger. Reno was forced to stop.

"You're not supposed to be here!" she accused, raising her hand and pointing with a finger.

"Yeah? Well I have orders that say otherwise."

"What orders?" she asked.

"That's classified," returned the Turk though they were not.

"Don't you have things to take care of a bit closer to home? Wutai is none of your business."

"My mission is my business no matter where it may be. I have a job to do. Now move," Reno nearly snarled, patience wearing thin.

His boss may have grown softer since his injury but Reno wasn't of the same disposition. Nothing mattered to him except doing his job and getting his pay check. That's how he was before the meteor and how he would be until the day he died. He considered him simple enough regarding that.

In fact, Reno was actually having a bit of doubt as to how much his employer really had reformed Sure he was injured now but he was having trouble believing a brush with death would lead someone who never cried nor bleed to become such a softie. Reno didn't care either way but he wouldn't put it past the President to be doing this merely as a PR move. And who was Reno to complain. He still had his job and his weapon wasn't taken away from him which was a good sign that he'd still get to get his hands dirty.

His grip tightened on his rod as he readied for himself for the ninja's probable attack. He didn't know much about her but she seemed to have a volatile temperament. Not to mention ninjas were known for speed and he didn't want to have her get the preemptive attack.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what this is all about," the girl persisted. "Why are you here?"

She didn't trust him and to be honest he didn't blame her. He had put her through hell just months prior and that was even without everything Shinra as a whole did to her home. Still, he didn't allow that to drop his guard.

"I'm waiting," she called, crossing her arms and even beginning to tap her foot.

Reno rolled his eyes and continued to walk forward. He didn't have time to amuse the girl or humor her sense of entitlement. She let out a cry of protest as he neared and when she didn't move he went around her and he noted the way she actually shifted aside for him to pass.

"Hey!" she screamed against his back. "Get back here you idiot!"

He didn't turn back though. He figured it was best to ignore her cries. One thing was for sure, for a ninja she was way too loud.

The radiation levels in the city seemed normal. There were no abnormal levels detected anywhere that Reno had observed in the city with his counter. Currently he stood in an ally wedged between a housing complex and a shopping street as he noted the digits displayed on his instrument. The presence of contaminants whether it be mako or otherwise was actually better than it was back near his place that was for sure.

Reno pocketed the device, whipped out a small notepad which was then flipped open to a marked page and scribbled some more down. After which he replaced the book in his inner breast pocket and continued on down. He had spent the day measuring and recording his findings throughout Wutai and only had a few more places left to check before he could call it a day.

As he made his way back out of the ally way he paused taking a glance around before heading all of the way out. He exited the shaded area and continued on down through the ginza. It was crowded and many bodies pushed against him which made it a good place to disappear into. He didn't know for sure but he had a sneaking suspicion he was being followed. At the moment he cursed his red hair for making him stand out like a sore thumb. In Junon he wouldn't have this problem.

Still, he had a good idea of who he was being pursued by. Though he didn't fully detect her presence he had a hunch that it was her.

He made it out of the shopping area and onto a historic street lined with restaurants but decidedly less busy then into an ally where he scaled the wall of a red painted building and clambered onto the tiled roof. With a running start he easily jumped onto the adjacent building and continued on for some time keeping both ears open for the telltale signs of feet coming up behind him. Fortunately none came and content that he put enough distance between himself and his pursuer he change coarse towards the taller buildings. He scaled up another wall, making sure to keep his feet on the wooden beams and then jumping over onto the other side of what looked like the yard of a private residence.

"Hiya!"

"Sweet baby Ifrit! Where the fuck did you come from?"

Yuffie seemed pleased with herself for startled the Turk who now sat flat on his ass in the rocks of the garden. She grinned like a cat.

"I was waiting for the perfect time to scare ya," she said.

Reno grumbled as he picked himself up.

"I thought I lost you," he noted taking a glance behind him up the wall.

"One does not just lose Yuffie Kisaragi," the girl quipped.

"I see..."

The girl dived forward quickly and effectively stealing several items from him before he could even realize what happened.

"Wait what are you-"

He didn't even finish his statement before she was gone as quick as she came leaving him standing alone just as the owner of the house he trespassed upon turned on the lights and began yelling at him in their language. Reno didn't need to understand to know to high tail it out of there. Which he did.

Dressed in only her blue underwear and a large white cotton shirt that hung off her shoulders Yuffie sat in her room legs stretched out in a V in front of her and observing the things she managed to pilfer from that idiot red head Turk. She hated all Turks just as she hated anyone to do with Shinra in general. Her travels with Avalanche just managed to convince her even more they weren't to be trusted. Seeing the Turk on her lands roving about left her uneasy.

She frowned as she looked over everything. She had his wallet which she rifled through first. It hadn't contained his identification card much to Yuffie's disappointment. She was always curious of the Turks went by their birth names or not. She also had no idea how old that dude was and that was bugging her as well. At least there was money inside! She took the crisp bills of gil out and moved to toss the wallet aside before realizing that it was not only obviously expensive but also made from the softest leather she ever had the privilege to feel.

 _'Not to self,'_ she thought as she replaced the money in the wallet and set it back down. ' _The Turks make a lot of money.'_

She was glad with that spoil and brushing her bangs back she moved to the next item: a switch blade knife. This wasn't so surprising. Nearly every street savvy person to the east carried one. She learned that in her times exploring that continent. It was also very nicely made and ornate indicating it was an item worth a bit. She set it down.

Next was a black box thing with two antennae, a few buttons and dials, as well as a wide dark green screen. That was the instrument she had observed the Turk using while he was walking around Wutai. She had not clue what it was but she found the power button easily.

After turning it on the green screen lit up and displayed a half moon meter of some sort from 0 to 1000. In the middle was 500 and the needle displayed was bouncing a bit around 250. Yuffie's brows knit and she turned pointing the thing around her room and watching as the needle moved a tad but not much from the original spot.

Pressing some more buttons Yuffie caused some functions to change. This time she was viewing a green screen with a wavy line horizontal across it. As she moved around the room the waves also moved. What the meaning of it was Yuffie didn't quite know but she found it nonetheless. This lead to the girl trying to out all over the place and even pointing it at her cats. One tried to swipe it with a paw and another licked the antennae before losing interest.

Returning to her room and her original place she turned to the last thing she found, a small spiral topped memo book that fit right in the palm of one hand. She pulled back the cover and found the sheet empty. The next page though had many squiggles. In sloppy writing she noted Reno had wrote the names of various places in Wutai as well as a number beside it. Most of them had number written down except two: Pagoda and river.

Looking between the pages and the instrument in her hand she decided that Reno definitely had been measuring whatever this was and writing down the results. But what it meant she really couldn't discern. The Turk had done good to not write exactly what the variables on the sheet meant, maybe in anticipation of losing it. She supposed for him to have been a Turk that long he had to have been at least a little smart.

Whatever the meaning of his business in Wutai was she felt she had the right to know and now that he had hostage his things he had a bartering chip to find out exactly what.

She flipped through a few more pages in the book and saw that more places were listed but immediately noted they weren't all in Wutai though of course they were on the continent. She noted that a lot of it was in Sai Machi, a city to the north. What business did he have there and what exactly was this device she held in her hand?

He curiosity was definitely peaked. Though Sai Machi was in her jurisdiction as well she had to admit she wasn't so familiar with the area. It was a big enough place, so she heard, but she also heard the people were sometimes stubborn and hostile to those from Wutai. What could Reno seek to gain from inspecting both areas?

Reno needed to get his shit back. That radiation detector was on loan from the company and it'd come out of his salary should he lose or damage it. That was not cheap! His switch blade too was pretty awesome. It was custom and one of a kind.

Fortunately though his identification card and other important things were carried even closer to his person than his wallet and therefore he wasn't left completely helpless after being robbed blind. He checked into a nearby inn and without bothering to turn on the light he collapsed backwards onto the bed. He folded his arms behind his head and let his feet off the edges. Only then did it occur to him that he hadn't yet eaten that day but he quickly shrugged it off opting instead to smoke a cigarette.

He sat up and reached for the pack and lighter which were left alone by his encounter with the thief of a ninja. The place was non-smoking and he didn't actually care as placed the butt between his lips. He swiped his thumb across the lighter watching as it illuminated his fingers and then the end of his cigarette. Then just as quickly he was once again bathed in the darkness.

"Aw damn," he muttered around the stick as he remembered the drugs he intended to get but forgot about during the course of the day.

He figured it was OK and he'd get it later. Knowing that he'd get his fix was the only thing that kept him from getting anxious about when he'd next hit.

Instead he had to focus on meeting the ninja again and getting his things back. He wouldn't say "no matter the cost" though. Reno was sure he'd be able to settle things on his own terms.

Falling back against the bed again, not caring a bit about the ashes getting in the sheets, Reno let his eyes fall shut.

-to be continued-

AN:thanks for reading and please review! I really appreciate it!


	2. Chapter 2

02.

She found him the next morning at Turtle Paradise at a time nobody decent would frequent such an establishment. It was way too early to have started drinking and the place really shouldn't even have been open at that hour if it cared any about the community.

The bar smelled heavily of smoke and drink. There were other patrons there, local trouble makers, tattooed, wearing jumpsuits and overly large pompadour hairstyles. She knew their type and didn't mix with them. She kept her head up high as she walked past their table. They looked up from their game, hanafuda of course, but didn't dare call out to her. They knew who she was and they'd be in trouble if they engaged.

Yuffie didn't want to give the impression that she was above anyone. Despite that, the reality was that her station in life was that of the clan leader's daughter. She was a forbidden fruit, held high on a pedestal. Any and everything she did in Wutai was done under tight scrutiny by the community. After all, people wanted to know what Godo Kisaragi's daughter was up to. Only outside of the gates was she truly free.

It was something she had to learn to live with if she wanted to remain close to home. Having her own place, away from the Pagoda and her father, helped matters a bit. She had her friends, but unfortunately they were often from other influential families not completely unlike her own.

That's what she cherished about the outside world. Outside she was able to make friends of every walk of life and have the freedom of expression she so yearned. Was it strange that despite her hatred for the Shinra that she flourished in the world they created? The people who became her best friends, the best friend she had in grade school, the SOLDIER she tricked into treasure hunting with her, and members of AVALANCHE, all were associated with the system she so wanted revenge upon.

Inexplicable also was her attraction to men from that world. Where she should hate them she found herself taken by their wildness and violence. First Cloud, in an immature school girl kind of way, for his commanding presence and the glow in his unearthly eyes, and next Vincent in his more subtle and somber way, how he was both everywhere and nowhere, both alive and not. There was something in them both that excited her, made her tread down a precarious line of what ifs. There was a heady pleasure in wondering what it would be like should the feeling be reciprocated. She tasted it with Vincent and was rewarded for her persistence. It was every bit as good as she imagined it to be.

She wondered then how it would be interpreted by the men there when they realized who exactly she came into the bar that morning to visit. Of course they didn't know of her past, of her previous trysts, yet it thrilled her just a bit to think of the reaction if they did. A small smirk crossed her face as she passed them and continued towards the polished bar where sat a single foreign visitor dressed in a rumpled dark suit.

Reno didn't even stir when her shadow fell upon him. His fingers, much too skinny, held a cigarette to his near emaciated face. He looked like shit, like he barely even slept, and she wondered what kept him going. Did he fight for anything the way she did? His eyes looked as hollow as his cheeks did when they inhaled his cancerous stick. The smoke exhaled from his nostrils as his lids closed briefly.

His other hand moved to his cup sloshing around some of the liquid, warm sake, and bring it up to his thin lips for a taste. He downed it like it were a glass of water and after setting it down gestured with his hand for the bartender.

"I hope you brought my shit," he said without even turning towards her.

The bartender came and Reno ordered another bottle of the sake and an extra cup "for the lady."

"I knew I'd find you here," she replied scathingly.

He gestured to the seat beside his and she sat without even realizing she was doing as told.

"Breakfast," he said as if it explained everything.

The bottle of warm alcohol returned and he poured some in the two cups in front of them.

"They don't sell this stuff back east. I need to get it while I can."

He pushed the second cup in Yuffie's direction.

"Cheers," he said lifted his.

She made no move to take it and he sat frozen as if waiting for her to accept the offer. Seconds ticked by and then finally she took it in hand and raised it to her lips.

"Blegh this is disgusting!" she cried, gagging.

Just a taste was needed to satisfy the man and he set about to draining his cup down his throat. He didn't seem to care about her averse reaction. She still wasn't used to the taste of liquor and didn't see any reason to get accustomed to it. Anything that you had to get used to wasn't worth the effort. She set the little white cup down and to the side just as full as it was when she first took it.

"What are you doing here?" she asked getting to business.

He huffed and poured himself another drink.

"Where's my shit?"

"You first," she said. "Then we can decide whether you can get your stuff back."

He chuckled lowly and the sound was actually nice in Yuffie's ears.

"What makes you think I won't just take it back?"

For the first time that morning he looked at her, really looked at her, with his strange colored eyes set in a pallid face and framed by fiery strands of red hair. His lip was quirked up as if he were amused. Someone like Yuffie didn't know him enough to read past that outer expression of conceit and get to the slight annoyance registering in his eyes.

She was young and experienced many things in her life. She had been taking care of herself since her youth. She constantly ran away from home, fended for herself in the streets, and fought for survival in the wilderness of the gigantic world. Deserts, jungles, forests and grassland. There wasn't a land she didn't singlehandedly tame on her quest not just for treasure but for vengeance and the discovery of self. She thought herself mature and weathered by the forces of nature.

Who was Reno compared to the powerful gusts of a Corel desert sand storm? Who did this man think he was when pit against the fierce chill of a Snowy Village blizzard? She wouldn't back down. Not against a Turk she had defeated in the past.

But it was a rush to be challenged. The people in Wutai rarely did and she was ready for what he wanted to fight her with. She already proved herself stronger than him once and she'd do it again if she had to.

She laughed and rolled her eyes.

"I'd like to see you try. Might I remind you, you're in my territory now. I have the upper hand."

He didn't seem bothered and returned to nursing his drink.

"This may be a game to you," he replied at length. "But for me this is a job. You're getting in my way, Kid."

"I'm not a kid!" she protested, balling her hands into fists. "And this isn't a game for me either."

"Really? Then tell me what is it?"

"I already said it yesterday, I'm not letting you go until you tell me why you're here."

"You aren't just content with robbing me?"

She frowned, "You asked for it! You didn't tell me so I had to figure it out on my own."

He crossed his arms and leaned against the bar, a grin spreading across his face that unsettled her. He was laughing at her. He still wasn't taking her seriously.

"And what is it, may I ask, did you deduce from what you've taken?"

"That you're up to no good," she replied.

"That's vague," he said with a teasing lilt in his voice.

She puffed out her cheeks. She didn't get this guy at all. Where exactly did he get off? One minute he was cold and unsocial and now he was teasing her, poking her in the neck as it were, with his words. She didn't want to blame it on his drink. Yuffie wondered if he were always in some state of intoxication.

"Tell me more," he prodded.

"Fine," she huffed.

She thought for a moment crossing her arms and drumming her fingers against her bicep. The wallet and knife, though nice steals, were not the important items. At least, not for any work he had came to Wutai to do. She recalled the strange black box with antenna and the tiny notebook. Whatever it was it had to do with that, but she couldn't very well guess on that info alone.

"It's a counter of some sort, isn't it?" she guessed. "You're measuring something around here and writing it down. You had a bunch of city landmarks written in your notebook. The bridge, the pagoda, the ginza... What are you doing in my city?"

He cast his eyes to the ceiling before looking back at her and letting out a breathy laugh.

"I suppose that's as good a deduction as any," he said. "So I'm guessing you learned how to work the thing?"

"It's not hard! I can turn on a piece of crap toy," she shot back.

He shook his head, "That 'toy' is state of the art Shinra technology and I need it back."

She returned the gesture and grinned, "Not without going through me, first."

"You sound like a broken record."

"You do too," she countered.

Yuffie stood and put her hand on her hip, hooking her thumb through one of her short pants belt loops. She leaned down towards him leering at him as she spoke and not even aware of the less than innocent view she was giving him of her body as she did so.

"Look, you want your stuff? Level with me. I doubt this mission is top secret."

"Whatever made you conclude that?" he asked.

She huffed and straightened, throwing her arms behind her head in a tomboyish manner and kicking her legs out as she fell back onto the seat. This time her back was to the bar.

"Well, if it were secret you'd have made it a little bit harder for me to tail ya," she pointed out.

"Are you admitting that I could give you the slip if I wanted to?" he asked with a hint of amusement.

She shook her head, "No, I would have found you either way. But you were totally careless."

"Right."

She smiled glad to see she was finally getting through to the dense redhead.

"When I saw you yesterday I thought, 'he must be up to no good.' I see right through you, you know. And the stuff that I took from you proves exactly that."

Reno chuckled draining the last of the sake into his cup.

"What if I told you I was here to help you?"

Yuffie made a face of disgust.

"Help me? What could you possibly help me with?"

"I mean your people," he said. "That my mission is something along that line."

"Pfft, I'll believe it when I see it."

Without replying Reno reached into his pocket and slapped some gil on the table. She watched fearing that she said the wrong thing yet again. He wasn't an easy man to rile it seemed and his attention was just as hard to capture. Was he bored?. Just like the previous day he was walking away from the confrontation.

She watched with and 'o' shaped mouth as he began to shuffle away.

"Where do you think you're going?" she called after him.

Her face grew red in embarrassment, aware now of the way the eyes of the trouble making locals were on them both.

He glanced back at her with his hands stuffed in his pocket, his eyes seemed to take in her entire being from her head to her toe, appraising her and judging her worth. She was aware of the danger he once posed towards her when she was traveling with Cloud and the others. She wondered if Tifa would approve of her playing with fire so to speak.

It drew her to him more.

"Come with me and I'll show you," he said.

When he woke up that morning Reno didn't expect the girl to track him to the Turtle Paradise first thing. He scolded himself for being so predictable but was glad that the tedious job of finding his pilfered items was done for him. The only thing left was to convince the girl to give it all back to him.

Persuasion was a necessary skill for a Turk and as such he wasn't worried about his ability to receive his stolen goods back.

"You know Wutai isn't the only area where people are getting sick."

"So your boss is sick, huh?"

"Now you're just jumping to conclusions."

"As if that bastard would care about the plight of anyone else."

"I'll have you know he, and by extension our entire organization, has turned over a new leaf," Reno glanced at his nails in boredom. "We've seen the light so to speak."

"In other words you realize you're in dire need of good PR to get back into good graces and keep making money."

Reno dropped his hand and swung his weapon at his side in an idle motion.

"Look, intentions don't matter if everyone gains something from it."

Yuffie scoffed and turned away.

"You can make that face all you want but it doesn't change a word of what I said, and it doen't get me out of your hair either."

She whirled back at him, "And what will?"

"I told you, I have a job to do. I can't leave until it's finished."

She seemed to be contemplating that for a moment. She lifted her fist to her mouth and began to nibble and the thumbnail in thought. Reno found the gesture childish and she looked younger than her age then glancing up at him with dewy gray eyes threw dark bangs.

He took the opportunity to continue to speak.

"As you guessed, it is a measuring device."

He paused to make sure her gray eyes were holding fast, that he held her interest. He did.

"It measures mako radiation," Reno went on. "You're right, the president is sick and he wants to figure out the cure. What matters the cost if everyone benefits from it?"

"And that brings you here because...?"

"I am here to gather data about the sick," replied the man.

"And you think it's caused by mako radiation?" the girl asked, eyes widening in wonder.

Reno shrugged, "It's what the science is saying."

She looked down, face suddenly solemn.

"Whether it's contagious or not, I cannot say nor am I privy to the inner workings of the research. Like I said, my job is merely to collect these data findings and you're getting in my way."

He emphasized the last part, sneered it even, because he was getting tired of playing with her and was ready to get on with his business. She still looked contemplative, her thumb being worn down in her preoccupation with the problem set before her. She wasn't an idiot so of course she knew what Reno was implying to her.

Even if what she said was correct, that Rufus couldn't have changed his colors, there was much for her people to gain if the Shin-Ra were able to research and create a cure for the sickness that had so suddenly befell them.

They knew not yet the cause, but a mild panic was starting to spread among her people. She heard it discussed among the mothers in the neighborhoods and the vendors in the stalls. They were worried if they and their children would come down with the horrible illness next. Whether the disease was contagious or not, and it was overwhelmingly believed to be contagious, didn't matter. People were frightened. It was easy to play on people's fears.

Yuffie was still guarded when she lowered her thumb and spoke eyeing the Turk with suspicion.

"I'll help you."

Those weren't the words he expected to hear and his eye brows shot up in surprise.

"I'll let you finish your stupid mission but I'll be alongside you every step of the way."

"Are you saying you don't trust me?" Reno asked, gathering his bearings and making a joke of it.

"Not with my life," she spat.

He chuckled, "Fair enough. But I don't want to be stuck with some brat all day."

She didn't seem insulted and stuck up her nose.

"It's not like you haven't any other choice, do you? I still have your things."

"So can I get them now?" he chanced to ask.

She frowned though there was a bit of the amusement back in her eyes.

"Follow me," she said beckoning him through the trees and off the path.

"You know, babysitting isn't part of my job. I didn't agree to let you come with," he said as he started after her.

She looked back at him, pink tongue darting out of her mouth as she taunted him.

"I know, but I don't think you have much of a choice," she replied.

She continued to walk forward and hooked her arms together behind her back. Conversation lulled into silence as they walked. It was a shortcut, figured the Turk.

His eyes at first wandered but soon fell like a trance onto the form of the girl in front of him. Once again he found himself admiring her frame. She was lean and toned; the muscles in her thighs adequately displayed as they propelled her forward. Those legs, by all appearances much longer than they actually were, also sported the most beautifully formed calves. It was a blessing the girl had an aversion to long pants.

"How old are you?" he finally chanced to ask.

She tossed a catlike grin over her shoulder before looking ahead again.

"What does it matter?" was Yuffie's reply.

The grin she sent him was infectious and he had to match hers with his own.

"Just making sure it's OK for me to look."

She laughed, short, but a laugh still.

"As if that would stop you."

Reno sped up so he and the girl could walk shoulder to shoulder. He turned his head to regard her and she looked every bit as confident as she sounded.

"Now, now, what do you mean by that?"

"I mean that I know what's going through that simple mind of yours. Don't think I haven't felt your eyes on me," Yuffie replied.

"Don't flatter yourself."

"Aw, you think I'd be flattered by attention from someone like you?"

"Of course you would. Why wouldn't you be? I'm quite the catch, you know," he grinned down at her and she looked at him with an impassive expression.

"You really think highly of yourself don't you?"

He nodded, "I do."

She chuckled and swatted him in the chest with the back of his hand.

"Down boy. Let's hurry up and get you the fuck out of here."

-to be continued-

AN: slow build is slow. thanks for reading. please review


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